DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

I thought I should start a restoration thread for my car.

First, a summary of its main good points:
1971 (1972 model year) 911T Coupe
RHD supplied by Agnew in Belfast on 13th December 1971
Original 2.4 engine and 5-speed gearbox
78000 miles recorded
Original Fuchs alloys
Period Recaro seats

Photos below summarise the bad points:



It had been in New Zealand for 30 years but was never put on the road there. A few spiders have been living in it over that time but fortunately no sign of rodents.



I have started the process of stripping the car but I can thank the folks in NZ for simplifying that task by removing some parts for me like front and rear windscreens and much of the interior.

Some, actually, most nuts, bolts and screws have not been keen to come off. Having said that one nut came off easier than expected. Unfortunately, it was a captive nut holding the bonnet hinge which meant removing the hinge from the inner wing to make it easier to separate bonnet and hinge off the car.

At least now after finding a few hours here and there over the last few weeks the bonnet, front wings, dashboard, dashboard dials and switches, steering wheel, heater control boxes, windscreen wiper mechanism, headlining and rear side windows are now off the car.

Some parts will clearly need replaced but others look a lot better even with a simple clean.




Some more work required on them but at least they now look as if they can be reused.

In parallel with the practical work, I have requested a Certificate of Authenticity and submitted a V888 form to the DVLA for the vehicle history.

I was fortunate enough that the export of the car had not been recorded at the DVLA and the car still had its UK plates. As it came from NI to the mainland, it received a V registration in 1979 rather than an age related plate. I was able to register the car and submit my V888 request. Within a few weeks I had a stack of paper and on one of the sheets it mentioned the car’s original NI plate. Well worth the £5 cost. A new V888 request to NI DVA and I wait for what they can find.

Contrasting with that I submitted my request for a Certificate of Authenticity in November and I am still waiting for a correct one. Having initially waited the four weeks suggested I chased it up. They first said they had no record of the request, which I thought may have explained why I had not received it, but they did find it. When it arrived in January it had the car listed as a 912 and the gearbox type as 911/12 rather than 915/02. After chasing through email, with either little or no response, a phone call resulted in a new certificate at the end of March. Despite me pointing out the mistakes, the gearbox type is still wrong but at least it is now a plausible 915/12. I phoned over two weeks ago and they agreed it was their mistake as the serial number of the gearbox does mean it is a 915/02 but I still wait. The CoA is not costing me anything, as free to Porsche Club GB members, but if I was I really would have cause to complain in waiting over 5 months to get a correct one.

My intention is to restore the car back to its original colour of tangerine rather than the white that it was repainted in 1981. Exact finish is to be determined but I am aiming for a good restoration rather than concours. Disassembly and reassembly I am keen to do myself but I’ll leave the more complicated tasks to more suitably qualified experts.

I know it has been discussed on other threads whether a car like this is worth restoring but in my opinion it is. My previous Porsche project was a Cat D Boxster S. Although I enjoyed repairing it, it did not take that long to do and my intention was never to keep it. Now I have a project that will run for much longer, some may say indefinitely. If I get stuck on one bit there will always be another bit to do and at the end I will have a car that I do want to keep.

Anyway, that will do for now as I have some more parts cleaning to do which is only half done.

You've got a bit of work in front of you Graeme. Will be a cracking car when finished,especially in the original colour.
Keep the photo's coming.

That is a well traveled car. Any idea why it went to NZ?

That will keep you busy, and you will have a great adventure bringing it back.

What do you use to clean things with?

A billion pics are required of course, so get on with it!

Looks like you have a fair old job on your hands there.
May be a good idea to buy Easter eggs for the bank manager this year.

Will all be worth it in the end as specially in Tangerine
Good luck Graeme

revo

Good to see you making progress Graeme shame the CoA is taking time. Atleast you'll get all the info at DVLA I think I've got to wait for my first MOT, which as you know is quite a way off......I think I need to get my resto thread started now too.


Keep at it.

Kieron.

aston wrote:......I think I need to get my resto thread started now too.

...so do I


Best of luck with your resto Graeme, always worth it!......look forward to following your progress.

Thanks for the words of encouragement.

In no particular order, I don't know why it went to NZ. It does seem strange to take it all that way and not then do what was required to put it on the road. It did change hands a couple of times while out there. Unlike the UK there is no V5 or the like for cars not on the road which may make it a little harder to trace the previous owners but I will give it a go.

I am going through plenty of Mer vinyls, rubbers and plastics cleaner (as well as plenty of rags and elbow grease). The Mer even lifts the white overspray which seems to have got everywhere!

Latest photo is below, just about showing that both window frames are now off. The passenger side was a pain with stuck bolts and the electric window motor is still in the door. I therefore decided to move on to the drives door and within 90 minutes it was all apart - a very pleasant surprise.

Looks great Graeme, cant wait to see how you progress with it.

I took the fuel tank out. Straightforward to take the filler neck etc off the top. I then wasted time by disconnecting the out and return feeds from the bottom of the tank. After jacking the front of the car up and placing axle stands under the suspension I decided it would be easier to disconnect the hoses to the rear of the steering rack rather their other end at the tank. Having not run for as many years it was no surprise no fuel came out. On lifting the tank I expected to pull it and have two hoses attached however both just stayed in place even though nothing was now retaining them. Anyway at least it is out and one step closer to being stripped.



On to removing this next. I am sure the dirt makes it look more complicated than it actually is but I will label it anyway.



And it may have taken over 5 months but I now have a correct CoA from Porsche - result.

Keep the posts coming, brings back memories of mine....

I've got the car up on axle stands to allow access for repeated treatment of some of the nuts with WD40 fast release penetrant so I thought I would remove the wheels.
Someone looks as if they have had a go at removing the wheels already but were probably thwarted by using a 12 faced 19mm socket that rounded off the edges of some of the nuts. A 6 faced 19mm socket was good enough to remove most of them allowing me to take off the front wheels however another ploy was required for the rears. The 19mm socket was just spinning so I managed to squeeze on an 18mm socket. Of course that solved one problem (the wheel was able to come off) but it moved the problem elsewhere as the nut was stuck in the socket.

Fortunately the socket had a hole between the 1/4" drive and socket so I cut the nut flush with the socket, rested it on a 19mm socket and punched it out.



Unfortunately the two remaining nuts on the final wheel are not wanting to fall for the same trick so more thought required. They must be even more rounded than the one pictured.

Sheesh! Good work so far

Finally, and for want of a better phrase, the nuts are off.

I bought a socket with a reverse thread that was supposed to remove stuck nuts. Once tightened on to the nut it should grip it and remove it. Unfortunately all it did was tighten all the way on then strip the outside of the nut. I had the choice of 19mm or 17mm version but had opted for 17mm as the nuts were already part stripped so I reckoned 19mm would not get a grip. Even with the smaller diameter the resistance between nut and bolt was still too great.

I had to resort to drilling in to what remained of the nuts, trying not to mark wheel or bolts on the hub. This took some time but eventually I got the nuts to split.

This allowed removal of the last wheel and better access to remove the bumper quarter and the rear light.



What I now know is when the car was advertised with 'wheels are all original', that was true in the sense they are not fakes however they are not all original to the car. One is dated in late 1971 which could well be original. The front 2 are both from 73 and the last to be removed was from 74. Hopefully they can be refurbished though although as can be seen there is some serious kerbing and some marks on one of the petals which I don't recall making myself when removing the nuts.

The rear bumper will definitely need replaced but there is hope for the light box.

I don't know whether this burst of progress was just because I am on holiday or because I treated myself to one of these.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRO-Mechanics ... 3a7e3080c9

No affiliation but well worth the £37.

Hi Graeme, interesting thread for me as you are a little ahead of me...Im looking to remove the wiring loom shortly once my engine is out.
How are you proposing to do this. From which way do you pull it through? Do you connect a wire to one end so once loom pulled through you leave a wire inside chassis to pull back though once restored??? Whats the best way to label wires/junction box??

Keep it up fella!

Adam